Vacuum floor mopper



Nov. 11, 1952 C. K. BRCWN, SR, ET AL VACUUM FLOOR MOPPER Filed Dec. 31,1948 INVENTOR. CHARLES KEPLER BROWN, SR.

CHARLES KEPLER' B ROW/V, .JR.

ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 11, 1952 UNITED STATES T OFFICE,

? CharleszKep'ler: Brown, Sr., and: Charles Kepler Brown, J 13.,Fairmont, ':W.Va.

ApplicationiDecember 31, 1948, Serial No.'68;604

This 1 invention relates to washing and cleaning equipment and moreparticularly ato mops operating -.on a vacuum principle.

' 'The conventional method for drying up: water :from -a:fioor-beingwashed with water or "other liquids .consists :generally in .theuse'o'f :a cloth 01: rope1mop'on:the :end of a handle ora moppingcloth'alone, which is relatively dry-at the beginning and :absorbs thewater into I itself until about saturated. Then :the mop. is wrung: orsqueezed so the wateris:ejectedand the rmop made relatively d y a ainan'drreadyforbreuse; .The process is an inconvenient one--no--matter howwell done. It takes timeand: effort to wring :out thewvater and-themop-becomes soadirty and saturated with water after a little usethatri't .does not remove =asmuch-of the-dirtand water as it: should;The operator thereforehasin: most cases, to clean upagain a after "afirst mopping,

with clean water and a new or' washed out and dried mop. The mop whenrelatively dry, ab-

.sorbs-the water "by-capillary action. The mop decreases in its'powerofabsorptionasit -be- :comes'more orless filled .by the water drawnup initwandholds-it in suspension in'a-very loose manner. In fact some ofthewater usually drops on the floor'from the-mopas it is raised orcar-;riedto thebucket intowhich-the water is to be.- squeezed. The drops ofwater'then :have to .besmopped up. in another mopping. The severaladditional i moppings, together with :the. squeezf .ing, and thezseveralhandlingsand carrying of :the mop to and from the bucket usedwith the.mop make the workye-ry inconvenientystrenuous and-long.Itis-thereforean-object of. this invenmopping up-the water-used-in thewashing of floors and similar surfaces, that will avoid one or moreof'the disadvantagesand'limitations of the prior art.

Another object of the .presentinvention is to I provide a new andimproved mechanical mop that will draw up the Water'orliqui'd used forwashing a surface effectively and quickly.

A further object of the herein described inven- 1 tion is to provide anew and. improved mechani-- securely together, and be provided with acon-;."

"35 tion lZO DIOVldG ,a-new andimproved device-for venient *an'd cleanarrangeme'm for discharging itin a controlled manner.

Other objects will: become apparent as the invention is more fully setforth.

For A a' better understanding of the invention and the objects 'thereof;reference is ma'cleto the- =accompan-ying drawings and the descriptionfol- "lowing. These together detail a particularform "of the inventionbyway of example'for'illus'trating its principles of construction-endoperation,

while-the appended claims indicate the' scope of the invention.

Inthis invention; thestructure-employedoper- -ates under a vacuum-principle,-in thatit-"uses a nozzle connected with a container, whichisrun overto -suck upthe water or Iiqui'd'to be: removed The container andnozzle are cause damage thereto.

" In ;the accompanying drawings: 'Fi'gurelis a vacuum or mechanicalmopgpartly in section to show its Y internal construction; and embodyingthis invention; and ltZiSShOWIllfittac'hed to a conventional vacuumcleaning machine;

Figure '2 is-a detail of a portion-- of. the; nozzle 'usedwiththe"embodiment shown in Eigureil Figure? is a-complete'transversessectional view taken onl:the l'i'ne.?3'.3: offFigurezl';

Figure 4 is av complete transversexssectional "view taken on the line il-4 of Figure .11.;

Figure 5' is a sectional .view :taken linaailongi- 'tu'dinaldirect-ionofrthe joint wherev thetnozzle and receptor. tank fitr. intoone another',.the:joint "being in closed position;

Figure fi is a similar :view': to that :of Figured,

with "the: joint in open "position, "to allow the water or fluid to passfrom the receptor tanksand be discharged therefrom;

Similar reference numerals refer to. the-simi- 'lar-parts-throughont thedrawings.

Referring to Figure "1 inparticular;avacuum cleaning machine structureI0 is shown in dotted outline as conventional equipment which has itsflexible hose I I connected with a tubular handle l2 by a coupling l3.The handle I2 is preferably made as indicated and is provided with anex- 3 tension tube 16 that fits through a stufiing box [4 into a,receptor tank i5, which is adapted to hold the water or liquid i1 raisedfrom a surface during washing and drying process. The extension tube hasa collar l 8 mounted peripherally on it, and serving as an abutmentagainst which a coiled spring [9 presses at one end while its other endcontacts the stufiing box end of the tank I5, This keeps the liquid fromrunning out of the tank until released. The end portion of the tubedisposed in the interior of the tank is surmounted by a liquid and airseparator 2|; This diverter is attached to the lower end of the tube [6.The lower end of the diverter is connected to a nozzle tube 22 ofsimilar interior and exterior dimensions as the tube It. It oflfers apassage for the flow of liquid from a nozzle 23 into the tank IS. Thetube 22 is slidably held in the central collars 24 of spiders 25 rigidlyat-' tached to the interior surface wall of the tank IS. The tubes [6and 22 with the interconnected separator 2! are rigidly connected withone another, so that the telescoping or pulling of the tube It throughthe stufiing box 14 will move them all together until the lower endtapered portion of the tube 22 fits in the angular portion 5i of thehose 2'! at the lower end of the tank 15, or lifted out therefrom foremptying the tank as the case may be. A rubber or plastic hollow gasket39 on the exterior of the portion 26 serves to make a tight joint. Thenozzle 23 is held on the nose 2'! by a coupling 28. The nozzle may be ofseveral contours but that of a spreaded design as indicated in Figure 2is preferred in this embodiment.

The separator 21 is tapered from each collar end-portion 29 and 30respectively towards the middle, as shown, with an inverted cone 3|situated internally to act as barrier or bafiie to the liquids sucked upthrough the tube 22 into the diverter and separate the air therefrom.The collars 29 and 30 are supported on spaced straps 32 and 33 welded tothe cone 3| so the liquid from the tube 22 can spill out directly intothe tank [5 without passing beyond the barrier cone 3!, while the aircreating the vacuum or sucking action in the tube will pass freely intothe tube 16 free from the liquid, and back into and through the vacuummachine I0. In this instance the tube 22 is inserted tightly into thenose 2'! so all the suction is on the nozzle and there is no leakage ofliquid out of the tank through the nose 21'. When the tank is fullenough to require the emptying of the water from it, the handle I2 ispulled upward by the operator with one hand against the resistance ofspring l9, while his other hand resists the pull on the tank or receptor15 by holding the tank handle 34, until the tube end portion 26 islifted out of the nose 21, as shown in Figure 6 and the water is allowedto flow out of the nozzle into a bucket. During the dumping of thewater, the vacuum machine is preferably stopped, so there will be notendency for the water to hold or stay in the tank during this dumpingaction under a vacuum tension.

The use of the vacuum for sucking up the washing liquids provides aclean and effective method for their removal from the floor and is doneexpeditiously and with the complete ;re-

4 moval of the dirt with them, and avoids the necessity of repetition inthe process in the same area or recleaning as required by the usual ofcloth or rope mop method.

While but one general form of the invention is shown in the drawings anddescribed in the specification it is not desired to limit thisapplication for patent to this particular form, as it 'is' appreciatedthat other forms could be made that would use the same principles andcome within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus of the class described comprising in combination, asuction nozzle, a receiving tank communicating therewith and securedthereto at its bottom, conduit means within said tank communicating witha source of suction, the outer periphery of said conduit means normallyblocking both ends of the tank, said conduit means having an opening inthe receiving tank intermediate the ends of said conduit means, means inthe aforesaid opening for diverting liquid sucked up through the nozzleand directing the liquid into the receiving tank where it istrapped,.said conduit means being slidable within said tank to move theend of the said conduit means adjacent the nozzle away from the bottomend of the tank to place the tank in direct communication with saidnozzle, whereby the liquid trapped in the tank may flow outwardlytherefrom through the nozzle.

2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the means for divertingliquid include a baiiie to separate air from liquid sucked within saidtank.

3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, including a spring normallyopposing sliding movement of said conduit means away from the bottom endof the tank.

4. An apparatus of the class described comprising in combinatiomasuction nozzle, a receiving tank communicating therewith and securedthereto at its bottom, piping within said tank communicating with'asource of suction, said piping comprising a lower section normallyabutting and peripherally blocking the bottom end of said tank, and anupper section extending through theupper end of said tank andperipherally blocking said end, bafile means intermediate said pipingsections, said piping being slidable within said tank whereby the lowerpiping section may move away from the bottom end of the tank, a springcoiled about the upper piping section and abutting the upper end of thetank, and an abutment for the opposite end of the spring carried by theupper piping section.

CHARLES KEPLER BROWN, SR. CHARLES KEPLER BROWN, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,690,472 Breton Nov. 6,.19281,762,142 Breton June 10, 1930 1,849,663 Finnell Mar. 15, 1932

